Dragonball Exiles
by DragonballExiles
Summary: A ragtag team from all aspects of the multiverse must work together to prevent the destabilization of all reality, by travelling to different versions of Earth and other planets, and preventing anomalies from wreaking havoc. The faces are familiar, the adventures, aren't. Written by Fool's Gil and ShadowBardock89, edited by Jcogginsa.


The wispy smoke and the flames scorching both the field and the grassy knoll saddened and infuriated the visitor. None of this was supposed to have happened. The scent of slain innocents, their blood crying out to him, blaming him for his naivety and inaction. His light mauve hand balled up into a fist and he shuddered. He never thought he was capable of having so much anger. He even had to transform to put a stop to this madness, the pain of reconstructing his skeletal system only fueled his rage even further.

"How could you do this Bejita?" The benevolent diplomat known as Freeza roared at the kneeling saiyan. She's heavily wounded and bleeding, but the princess' eyes were still defiant, and her brown locks raged and flew like the flames themselves.

"I gave you food, equipment, technology, anything that your hearts desired! How could you do this?! Rebel against me?" At this Bejita started to chuckle.

"The Saiyans are warriors, not freedom fighters. You had no right to commission us for your holy crusade!" Bejita spat, her eyes slowly scanning the landscape for a chance to escape, ignoring the bodies of her men. This whole rebellion was nothing but a disaster. And with a power level of 600,000 Bejita was sure she could stop Freeza, and after wiping out his army, the Saiyan Empire would drown the universe in a sea of blood. But no one knew of Freeza's ability to transform.

"I can't let any of you live for this." Freeza said slowly, turning away from Bejita, his horns gleaming in the alien sun. "You are all too dangerous; a warrior race that gets stronger after every fight, and if their princess could reach my first form, it wouldn't be long before I have to transform yet again to defeat another. I won't let your evil corrupt the universe."

"Heh!" Bejita mocked. "You want to act like you're better than me, but you're about to do what you need to, just like I did. I regret nothing. Now finish me."

Freeza turns around to fire a beam of energy from his hand, and Bejita closed her eyes. But when the heat of the blast started to singe her skin, Bejita vanished. She wasn't enveloped by the attack, one second she was there, and then she wasn't.

* * *

"-And sire, these bandits are rampaging on the eastern border, they're eluding the scouts, and are attacking the villages-

"Vizir Pamput, commission The Watch and their dogs on it." The voice who interrupted it was boyish, young, and authoritative...and bored. His eyes drifted to the the well dressed figure with dark brown skin and a reasonably sized afro, who looked back to him, and nodded.

"Yes, Little Lord." As the Vizir began to speak, the boy decided then to take advantage of the situation, and closed his eyes, hoping he could get a full 2 minutes before being awoken. He looked to the Vizir one more time before closing them again.

"NEXT!" The Vizir rang out loudly and with conviction, taking the Little Lord out of his siesta. It had to have been only 45 seconds, and how dare his Vizir chose to awoken him in such a manner! Stifling a yawn, rubbing the bowl cut hair his grandfather insisted, and twirling his tail around with a finger, the Ox Prince sat up, ready to listen to his next grievance, or tried. It was another Code "I":

Icarus. It took a full 3 minutes before the goat herder got to the part that actually mattered.

"So then the beast-

"Icarus." Ox Prince interrupted.

"Um yes, 'Icarus.'" The goat herder said. "He went into my herds again, and ate 3 of my goats!" As he said this, the man grabbed the bald spots on his head where likely his hair once was. "It takes hours to clean when he's done! Please, sire, I beg you, the beast-

"-Is hungry." Ox Prince interrupted again. "I try to feed him every day, but he prefers to capture his own prey." Ox Prince looks to Pamput. " Vizir Pamput, for every goat this man lost, give him five more. If he requires an additional tender to help with this larger flock, find a peasant who has too much time on his hands, and put him into service. "

"Yes, my Lord." The Vizir said, walking to the goat tender and escorting the man to follow him as the goat tender started thanking Ox Prince for his generosity and kindness. Other members made room for the Vizir, and got back in line, waiting for Ox Prince to help them, but he raised his hand in decline.

"That is enough for one day. Your Prince is tired and requires rest." Ox Prince yawned as loud as he could, and his subjects got the hint, slowly walking out. Ox Prince laid his head on his throne, deep in thought.

Day in day out, Ox Prince tries to get an hour of training at dawn, Grandpa Ox finds out, yells at him to stop training, the commoners come and bother him with their troubles, he tries to fix them until he's blue in the face. Then after lunch, studies until sunset. If he's is lucky, Grandpa Ox would go to bed early and so the Ox Prince might be able to get in another hour of training - if he's lucky.

Grandpa Ox must love him, the Ox Prince assumes. He teaches him how to rule, how to lead, how to act. But he also fears him. Fears the demon within, fears that the demon will escape, or become stronger by Ox Prince's attempts to cajole him, and it doesn't help that Grandpa Ox forbade any martial artists to train him and teach him how to control the demon. Ox Prince didn't know if he should feel insulted that Grandpa Ox considers him too weak to control the demon, or humble that his grandfather is trying to make the best of this situation and protect the world from evil. Still though, that look in Grandpa's Ox eyes when he caught Ox Prince blowing up a mountain using only his mind...

"The Prince said he is tired, he will not be listening to any other issues." called out one of Ox Prince's bodyguards.

"But I do not have a complaint or a need, I'm here to provide a gift." Ox Prince suddenly perked up. A gift? It's not his birthday. Ox Prince opens his eyes and looks to the speaker. Though kneeling, He is tall and completely shrouded in a black cloak, covering him head to toe, and though he wore no mask, it seemed a black screen covered his face as Ox Prince couldn't see it. But he did see the gift, held out for everyone to see. It was a shiny golden gauntlet with a large red ruby. The sun's light, shining through the windows on the sides of the throne room, hit the gauntlet. It was if as diamonds glittered in the air. Ox Prince got up from his throne and walked down its dusty steps.

The bodyguard, a hulking towering man immediately got between the kneeling cloaked man and The Ox Prince.

"Please Little Lord, we don't know who this man is, and gifts must be brought to the-"

"Anton be quiet." Ox Prince said, walking past the bodyguard. "As if such a delightful armament could bring harm to me." When Ox Prince was in front of the shrouded man, he brought his head down, either in reverence, or to keep Ox Prince from getting a closer view of his face; The Ox Prince slowly grabbed the gauntlet, and put it on his arm whilst Anton's squeezed his hands together, wishing to speak out but ordered not to.

"Wow, this looks so cool!" Ox Prince said, raising his arm, and bringing it down in a pose. "Does it do anything special, like shoot lasers?"

"No, Gohan." The cloaked figure said, a smile appearing on his face. "It does something better." Ox Prince froze, and looked to the giftbearer.

"What did you call me?" Ox Prince said, but before he could say another word, both he, and and the figure disappeared, leaving Anton widely staring, in shock at his ward being kidnapped.

"Oh. Oh no!" Anton said, trembling violently. "Little Lord! Little Lord where are you!"

* * *

Pandemonium and Chaos.

The Yardrats ran screaming, attempting any possible way to escape, but even their most prized ability, Instant Transmission, was worthless.

The demon hunting them knew the technique as well.

As the police attempted to bring as many women, children, and elderly to safety as they could, an aging withered Yardrat, heavily wrinkled, pale pink skin with green spots slowly walked out of the crowd. In front of him, the demon appeared.

"Such an amazing ability." he said, scratching his pure white, youthful, pretty boy face with one finger, and flexing his other arms' fist. "Rest assured, Makgusu, this skill will not die with your race." Makgusu fell to his knees, holding his hands together.

"Please Tapion! I healed you when you crashed!" Makgusu cried out. "I took care of you as if you were my own child! I taught you my race's most sacred ability! Please do not do this."

Tapion's started to smile softly, and then the smile started to become jagged and disgusting as Tapion started to leer past Makgusu and look towards the innocents. "I appreciate you saving my life. It would have been pathetic for a Konats agent to have died in such a way." His eyes drifted to the elder. "You were all destined to die by my hand, though delayed for weeks. Now perhaps, you do deserve mercy, you could have left me to die...but not even saving my life will keep me from taking theirs." Tapion slowly took a step. Makgusu fired a beam of energy in desperation, but Tapion slapped it away.

"And just like that, you're back on my list." Makgusu's eyes widened in fear as Tapion took another step, but then another Yardrat teleported in front of Makgusu. Tapion looked at him quizzically. During his recovery he took time to learn much of planet Yardrat, including finding every living member on the planet, and memorizing their faces. This one, he didn't recognize.

"Another hero?" Tapion laughed, his ki instantly rising to its maximum, shaking the very land beneath their feet. . "Forgive me, I've been playing and talking with my food too much, it's time for me to end this, and return to my real home." Tapion rushed the new Yardrat, who slowly closed his eyes. Tapion disappeared from sight, and appeared to the Yardrat's side. The Yardrat sensed Tapion's kick and caught it. It was over.

Tapion liked to end his fights in a certain way. A kick to the body, much slower than his true ability, allowing the opponent to sense and catch it, at which point they'd be open to a hidden dagger he'd throw at his true speed. He's done it on planets before this, on enemies before this, and on missions before this. What would make this planet, opponent, and mission any different? However, this Yardrat was different from his own kind. While his people were naturally gifted, they were also very peaceful, and in that way, they were not true warriors. This particular Yardrat however, was a black sheep. He trained himself on top of his natural strength, compounding his race's renowned technique of instant transmission, with his drive to break his own limits. The Yardrat did to Tapion what he'd done to countless targets when he went offworld to work as an assassin.

When Tapion's foot was caught, he was instantaneously moved into the middle of deep space. The shock expelled any remaining air from Tapion's body. The inability to breathe in scared Tapion, and he started flailing, trying to call on anything, his strength, his power, his race, anything, but there was nothing. As he suffocated, alone in darkness, Tapion cried out in his mind one last time, and then he was no more.

Back on planet Yardrat. Makgusu started to freely flow his tears, watching all the living members of his race gather around their savior. "Soba…I..."

"I told you not to trust aliens." Soba said. "Your actions have killed many of our people. You-"

And that was all the assassin said, before he, like the others, also disappeared.

* * *

Trunks swung down his sword, the momentum carrying through into a rightward slash and then a forward stab. He repeated the Kata thrice more, before sheathing his sword. Trunks walked over to the Gravity controls, which were set to 20x Earth's gravity. Low for someone like him, but he couldn't go to the higher settings or his sword would get damaged by it.

Trunks left the Chamber and began walking towards the laboratory. His father had damaged the training robots earlier in the day, so he couldn't do any parry training until they were repaired. Hopefully by the time he arrived in the lab, at least one of them would be operational.

Five minutes later, he entered the lab and saw one of the Robots sitting on a table. It looked fine. He just needed to test it out first. He reached around to the manual activation, and flicked it on. He immediately realized it was a mistake. The Robot's canon instantly began to heat up, firing an energy blast in less than a tenth of a second. Trunks managed to dodge with time to spare, but the blast struck an experiment on the other side of the lab. It began to spark wildly, and exploded.

"Oh, sh-" Trunks cursed before the light consumed him.

As soon as it happened, the light disappeared, and Trunks found himself in a new area.

A familiar voice met his ears "Who is this guy? I said only THREE!"

"Oolong?!" Trunks shouted.

* * *

[Six Months Later]

*REEE* *REEE* *REEE*... The recording of a strange bird filled the room, and the half-Saiyan began to stir from his slumber. He lets out a groan out before reaching for the controls to shut it off.

"If I ever encounter the creature that makes this sound, I'll skewer it…" groaned Trunks. He slinked out of bed and began stretching. After limbering up, Trunks did his morning hygienic routines and put on his work out gear.

As he walked out of his room, he glanced over to the door to Soba's room. _I wonder if Soba is up,_ thought Trunks. He knocked on the door and it opened on its own. "Pardon my intrusion, Soba.." said Trunks, before he noticed the emptiness of the room. _Hmm… He doesn't seem to be here_. Trunks looked at his watch and sighed. _I don't have time to wait for him. I need to get my workout in._

Trunks left Soba's room and headed to the gym.

Right before he entered the gym, Trunks heard a loud crashing sound, and an even louder voice: "Get up!" Trunks slowly opened the gym door to a crack, and watched as a wild fifteen year old with a mane of hair in a mullet down to the ground slowly rose, wiping a bit of blood from his lip. The fifteen year old took another strike, this time to the gut, and dropped to one knee, then stands again. He may not be the same person Trunks remembered, but in many ways, the Ox Prince is just like the Gohan he knew.

"This is hopeless!" the assaulter said with a sigh. Bejita walked away from Ox Prince. Her brown spiky hair and short stature was reminiscent of Trunks' father, but the obvious feminine features gives away the fact that this Vegeta is more like Trunks' alternate mother. Bejita turned around and looked to Ox Prince. "You're not trying hard enough to bring him out, Snot."

"Tch!" spats Ox Prince. "I told you to stop calling me Snot! I am-"

"-I'm not calling you Prince." Bejita interrupted.

"-And I think I know what the problem is." Ox Prince continued. "The demon recognizes that you're a woman!" Trunks placed his head in his hands, shaking it slowly. Bejita instantly started to bristle.

"What did I say would happen the last time you said that to me, s- for brains!" Bejita shouted. She briskly walked to Ox Prince and grabbed him by his neck and hoisted him into the air. Ox Prince defiantly brought his chin up in sneer. "I am the strongest warrior of all the Saiyans in all realities, least of all here! Only some low class, backwoods, hillbilly would think gender makes any f-ing difference!"

"It's not personal." Ox Prince said slowly, cool even under the fiery gaze. "But the demon knows that a woman is trying to draw him out, and he only respects men." Ox Prince sighed, as if he wasn't being gripped by the ever angry warrior princess in front of him. "For what it's worth, it was why he underestimated my mother, and why he houses within me. But what can you do?" Bejita drops Ox Prince who slowly rubs his neck, but looks to Bejita crookedly as she starts to chuckle.

"Something funny?"

"Well." Bejita started to say. "That's an interesting theory. But I think I have a way to convince your demon to come out, no matter what I've got between my f-ing legs." The Ox Prince's eyes widened as Bejita stuck her hand out, and charged up a beam of energy.

"If you die, he dies." Bejita said with a bloodthirsty gaze that screamed slasher. "It will be in his best interest to save you."

"B-Bejita?" Ox Prince gasped, before the saiyan princess fired. He dodged the blast, and found himself dodging a hundred other blasts. The other blasts began to be absorbed by the walls of the Crystal Palace. "Bejita stop! I command you!" the Ox Prince roared, but he was only answered with boisterous maniacal laughing. Trunks closed the door to the gym and walked away. Ox Prince will be fine, he always is.

"If Soba isn't in his room, or the gym..." Trunks took the fork on the right of the hallway, and headed to the martial arts instructor's room.. He'd definitely taken a liking to Soba, they'd spent hours meditating or training together, and while Soba had kept quiet, he'd been hinting at some new technique. Trunks noticed the door was wide open, so he stopped to watch his laconic friend.

"...difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers." spoke the withered, elderly face of Tenshinhan. "When it happens, it will expend all of your energy, as it is not natural for you to perform it. But in time, you will reach great heights with it in your repertoire."

Soba was slowly performing a set of strikes, with each form of the kata he would raise his ki to maximum, followed by reducing it to a minimum level on the next strike, reducing it so low even Trunks couldn't sense it. Etched on Soba's face was clear exhaustion, sweat falling from his blue speckled spots on his tightened hot pink skin, to his trembling lip. And yet he persevered and continued.

"Even in my reality, the Yardrats were a curious species with their Instant Transmission. And you, you have taken it to levels I didn't even know were possible." Tenshinhan praised. "This should be far easier than-" Tenshinhan's eyes suddenly drifted to Trunks. "Hello, boy."

Trunks brought his legs together and bowed with his arms at his sides. "Good morning, Master." He then brought himself back up to a normal position, and turned to Soba. "Good morning, teacher's pet."

Soba continued his katas as if Trunks has said nothing, but the slight waver in his energy betrayed Soba's stoicness. Trunks couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, boy, what can I or Soba do for you?" Tenshinhan said expectantly. Trunks' eyes drifted to Tenshinhan.

"I wanted to spar a bit with Soba, but seeing as he's busy, I suppose I'll go for some breakfast."

"I'll be happy to spar with you." Tenshinhan said, a twinkle forming in his eye. "I'll even hold back a bit this time."

"No thank you, master." Trunks said, slowly backing away. Memories of the last spar with Tenshinhan flooding his mind, along with the aftermath of being in the infirmary for the rest of the day.

"You sure, boy?"

"Positive!" Trunks said, practically running down the hallway, and bumping into a wall. "See you later, Soba!"

While Soba continued his katas, a small smile started to form on his otherwise resolute expression.

Elsewhere Uranai Baba, the instructor of the arcane arts , was deciding what to wear for the day. It was clear as day that since she ate the Golden Alfirin centuries ago, she reveled in her ageless body. Her pink hair would never turn grey, her teeth would not rot, her bones would not shrink, her skin would never wrinkle and her buxom chest would never sag. Right now, she wore her black robes with a black hat. "Hmmm….. Too plain." sighed Baba into the mirror.

She snapped her fingers and the clothes transformed into a different set. It was a lavender button down blouse, bunned hair, hoop earrings, dark red lipstick, glasses, a maroon skirt, a black belt, and a pair black high heels. "Too formal." She snapped her fingers.

Her hair was was in pigtails, her lips coated in opal lipstick, her body robed in a dress of green, neon yellow, and hot pink, and her feet were clad in blue shoes. "Ugh! I don't like the colors!" said an irate Baba, before snapping her fingers.

Trunks was coming down the hall when he heard Baba using her magic. _Might as well stop in to see Baba-sensei._

As Trunks walked into her office, Baba was doing some risque poses in a very well-fitting Qipao that prominently displayed her curvaceous figure. She wore purple eyeshadow and red lipstick. Her pink hair had long bangs. "Well, this might turn some heads." snickered Baba mischievously. Trunks let out a startled gasp and turned around, but Baba had already noticed him.

 _I think I'll have some fun with handsome over there_ , thought Baba slyly.

"Oh, hello, Trunks! What brings you into my room today? Do you need help with something?" Baba exclaimed before settling into a smooth tone.

"Uhh… Yes, I was going to ask you something. But, I apologize for just walking into your place like this." said a flustered Trunks.

"Oh, Trunks, you are welcome to come here anytime." purred Baba suggestively, while slowly walking towards him.

"A-Anyway, umm… I-I was going to.." Trunks gulped as Baba got even closer, ".. ask you about strategies on… dealing with magic users, Sensei." _Like I'm not having difficulty dealing with HER right now!_ Trunks' inner voice screamed.

"Sure, I could help with you. Your affinity score is so low that taking supplementary lessons might be the best. I will personally tutor you and make sure you nail the the fundamentals down. You could implement those strategies on..." then Baba suggestively pointed her finger at herself, ".. Me." then she coyly giggled. "In fact, we could get started…" She moved in closer. "..right.." She was now practically in kissing distance, "... now."

Trunks, like prey fleeing from a predator, moved quickly out of the way. "P-Perhaps a-another time. I have to get going, but I'll see you next lesson session **with the others**." Trunks said with emphasis on the last words, as he rushed out of the room.

Baba then folded her arms, a cross pout on her face.

"Hmph. Fine!" She said as she turned around and began walking back to her mirror. But as she walked back to her mirror, Trunks could not help but sneak back and take a look at Baba's figure one last time; a bashful grin grew on his face as he stepped past her room to head towards the cafeteria.

As Trunks walked through the halls, thinking of everything he had been through since being part of the team. _Even though it's been so long, I still don't know a lot of how this tech work. Maybe Dr. Wheelo could answer some of my questions._

As Trunks approached Wheelo's lab, he could see the doctor working on some equations on the blackboard in the back of the room. Wheelo, dressed in the usual lab coat that Trunks had seen time and time again, had put his normally unfettered curly green hair into a bun and Trunks noticed furrowed frustration contorted on the doctor's feminine face, making Wheelo's green eyes look like piercing daggers. The doctor sighed. "No matter how many times I work through these equations, I still don't know how my experiment failed. I had everything! I was able to find a decent body to live in and continue my research! Only to have it all dashed away by one miscalculation that turned the sun into a blackhole!"

Trunks was startled by the this revelation, but kept silent.

"If Oolong had not teleported me when he did, I would have sucked in . Still, I have to be grateful to Kochin for ensuring my survival." Wheelo picked up a tallus. "What a strange thing this is. Able to nullify the butterfly effect. So many secrets to still unlock with it."

 _I knew there was something fishy with Wheelo! Why would Oolong pick up this fiend?! Note to self: do not trust the "good doctor."_ scowled Trunks. He slowly backed away and quietly left the area while debating whether he should warn the others of Wheelo's nature or not, never once thinking about why the good doctor would be talking to himself.

Trunks then made his way to the mess hall, as his stomach demanding sustenance. As he walked, he passed by the Mission control room. Oolong was there, sleeping as he usually did. _I don't like his laziness. But I suppose when the chips are down, he steps up to the plate._

Once at the mess hall, Trunks walked over the food materializer, and input the number of his prefered breakfast. Pancakes and bacon. It wasn't as good as the kind his mom made, but it did the job well enough. But before he could even take a bite, the emergency lights began to flash.

"Damn it, right before I ate." Trunk grumbled as he got up, and made his way to the Mission Control room.

Trunks began racing through the halls to where the Mission Control Room was. _I wonder what the mission is this time? Hopefully, nothing too difficult…_ wondered Trunks as he approached the last bend before Mission Control. Bejita and Ox-Prince came barreling around from the opposite hall.

"Don't get in my way or I'll decorate the walls with your guts, boy!" barked Bejita as she shoved Ox-Prince into the wall, who let out a groan.

They were just about there when Soba appeared in the room.

"How convenient." groused Bejita.

With the team all present, Oolong began his debriefing. "Now that you are all here, I'm going to be brief as possible because time is of the essence on this mission. Here is your target…."

Oolong pulled up a hologram on the holomonitor. "This being is known as Burter in most parallels. He's currently in Parallel 191."

"What's so strange about that?" asked Ox-Prince.

"He's not from Parallel 191. He traveled there. ." revealed Oolong.

"What?!" exclaimed Trunks, "I thought only we were the only one who could travel between parallels!"

"Not entirely true, but this Burter isn't supposed to be able to." replied Oolong.

"So, how is he doing it?" asked Soba.

"We're not sure. Dr. Wheelo has theorized that this Burter somehow has gained the ability to move so fast that he can forcibly breakthrough the timespace divides between the parallels." said Oolong with a concerned look on his face.

"... And we believe this is not the first time he's done it. In fact, we do not know what parallel this Burter is originally from." Wheelo chipped in as he walked into the room casually.

"The Burter I killed was quick, but this is on an entirely new level." remarked Bejita.

"Indeed. Which is why this mystery needs to be solved: Did this Burter develop this on his own or did someone artificially enhance his skills beyond normal capabilities? Your job is to retrieve this Burter, dead or alive, preferably the latter, so we can interrogate him and learn his secrets." explained Oolong.

"Is there anything else we should know about him?" asked Ox-Prince.

"He has penchant to cause havoc wherever he appears, whether it is to commit grand theft or bringing down entire worlds into absolute anarchy. We've been tracking him when we can and he seems to not care that he's a first class multiversal criminal." said Wheelo.

"Sounds like my type." Bejita quipped sarcastically.

"I've developed a device to help you track him down. Apparently, whenever he moves from one parallel to another, microscopic particles are dragged in with him. This device can detect the foreign particles and sift through them to track the source…" Wheelo said before pulling out a handheld device from his pocket. He showed off it's simple functions, and handed it to Trunks.

"Now, that you know the basics, the rest should not be too hard." Wheelo said.

"Consider Burter good as caught. We'll be back sooner than you think." assured Trunks.

"I have no doubts that this team is fully able of apprehending him. Now, here is a Tallus for each of you." instructed Oolong as he handed each of them a golden gauntlet. "The coordinates are set. You know what to do. Good luck."

As they started their jump between parallels, Trunks began to reminisce about how his life changed forever…

* * *

[Six Months Earlier]

Trunks blinked. _I thought there was an explosion?_ He thought. Looking around, he realised that he was no longer at Capsule Corps. "Wait! WHERE THE HELL AM I?!" Trunks exclaimed. A sudden thought overcame him with dread. _Am I dead?_ He pinched himself. _If I am dead, I shouldn't be able to feel pain, right?_

A quick survey of the area revealed that he was not alone. A tall pink creature he'd never seen before was in the room with him. _Who or what IS THAT?!_ "Who are you?! Why am I here?!" Trunks shouted. No response came from the creature. Trunks was about to draw his blade, but was interrupted.

"Please, stop shouting!" boomed a voice coming from the other side of the room. Trunks looked in the direction the voice was coming from to see surprise. He looked younger, but he recognized the face.

"Go-Gohan?" Trunks said in bewildered disbelief. "Gohan, is that you?" Trunks almost shed a tear as he stared at him.

"Gohan? Who's that? I am the Ox Prince! Remember it!" declared the young man.

"Ox Prince?" asked Trunks.

"Don't think you are so high and mighty, boy!" quipped a very brash female voice.

Trunks turned to see a short woman wearing Planet Trade Organization battle armor. Then he noticed a brown tail around her waist. _A Saiyan?!_

"You may be royalty in charge of a small dominion, but I am the heir to the throne of an entire race!" boasted the Saiyan. "I am Bejita, Princess of All Saiyans! All of you should kneel before me and beg me to not vaporize you this instant!" Bejita threatened.

 _It can't be?! She sounds like my father. What's going on?!_

Trunks sensed the creature coming from behind him, and he jumped away while drawing his sword. "Back off! If you know what's good for you, you'll stay where I can see you!" The creature vanished.

"He's gone!" Exclaimed Trunks, but just as the words came out of his mouth, the creature appeared in front of him. A surprised Trunks jumped back, but the creature caught the blade by the tip. Then, in a blink of the eye, the sword was gone!

Trunks was shocked for a moment but anger soon filled him. "You bastard!"

Bejita chuckled, and a sadistic smark came across her face as she rose her hand, an electric aura formed around it. She turned her attention to Ox-Prince. Bejita charged at the young man, who was already preparing a counter attack.

Suddenly an alarm sounded off and vents from the ceiling opened. A deluge of a gelatinous liquid filled the room, leaving all the occupants frozen in place.

 _I...can't...move!_

Suddenly, the alarms went silent and after a minute or two, Trunks heard a hatch door open. "Goodness, we can't have all of you kill each other before introductions are made." said a mysterious yet familiar voice. Trunks heard footsteps walk toward the center of the room. "It seems I have your attention now." Out of the corner of his eye, Trunks could see someone he knew quite well.

"Who is this guy? I said only three!" the voice said.

 _Oolong?!_ Trunks thought in disbelief.

The anthropomorphic pig that Trunks had known since childhood came into his view. He was sharply dressed, more so than Trunks had ever seen him. Oolong had a puzzled look on his face, and pulled out a small remote-like device. "Let's get some answers, shall we?" said the pig. He pointed the device at Trunks' face.

In a blinding light, Trunks felt he could move his head.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" Oolong demanded.

"Oolong, it's me Trunks! Why don't you recognize me?" questioned Trunks.

"I assure you I am not the Oolong you know, and you aren't the Trunks I know.." revealed Oolong. "Now, I'll ask again: how did you get here?"

Trunks collected his composure before answering. "I was training in Capsule Corp's gravity chamber with one of my training robots when a stray shot hit some experimental equipment and it exploded. I thought I was vaporized in the explosion, but I ended up here."

"Interesting." mused Oolong. "Wheelo, I need your assistance!"

A green-haired woman wearing a lab coat walked into the room. "How may I be of assistance?"

"Can you find out where our uninvited guest is from?" asked Oolong.

She pulled out a device from her coat and waved the device near Trunks. The device made a sound similar to a geiger counter. "It says that this Trunks hails from Parallel 5961. I'll give you data on that parallel in about 10 minutes."

"Thank you, Doctor." said Oolong. He turned his attention to Trunks. "We'll decide on what to do with you later, but I think it is time I addressed the team." he said, before releasing the rest of the team's heads as well.

"When I get out of here, I'll roast you for my next meal, pig!" roared Bejita.

"Calm down." assured Oolong. "Some of you may know a parallel version of me, but I'll introduce myself regardless. My name is Oolong and the individual next to me is Dr. Jonathan Wheelo -"

"That is my nanny, Launch! I'd recognize that face anywhere." interrupted the Ox Prince.

"Very astute, young man." replied Wheelo. "In most parallels, the identity of the being you see before you would indeed be Launch. But not in my case. "

"What!?" cried the Ox Prince.

"You will understand in time." said Wheelo. Wheelo then whispered something into Oolong's ear. Oolong nodded and the doctor left the room.

There was a long awkward pause in the room.

"What did you mean by parallels?" asked the Ox Prince.

"Parallel Worlds. Varying aspects of reality that are similar, yet different in each version of the universe, that have diverged in one way or another creating its own timeline and in effect, it's own history and people." Oolong stated. "Ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? Every action that a person takes, however minute at the time, has the potential to have larger repercussions. What we deal with is one of the most extreme cases. The principle of every action has an opposite reaction applies here as well. The choices made or NOT made at key moments in time can cause a splintering from the the prime reality and become a parallel reality which in turn, has the potential of splintering into more parallel realities."

Trunks was a little familiar with the concepts Oolong was saying, (only because he remembered a very heated argument Bulma and Gohan had about multiverse theory) but was still having trouble coming up with a picture for the words Oolong was saying. Ox Prince looked completely lost, Bejita was apathetic, and no one could read what the pink creature known as the Yardrat Soba was thinking.

Oolong sighed. "I'll try to simplify it for you by using an example-"

Just then, footsteps were heard coming as Wheelo returned.

"The results from the data of Parallel 5961 are back." announced Wheelo

"Thank you, Doctor." replied Oolong as he took the data. He turned his attention to Trunks. "Now, what should we do about you?" Trunks tensed as he pondered what they would do to him.

"According to the data I recovered about Parallel 5961, Time flows faster than the prime reality. Very peculiar, if I must say so." noted Dr. Wheelo.

"What about this Trunks?" Asked Oolong.

"Wait! Wait! Slow down! What do you mean time flows faster?" Trunks interrupted.

"Your home timeline moves through time at faster pace than than prime timeline. I managed to track down where you're from and I deduced how you arrived here. Apparently, due to the effects of the gravity chamber plus the explosion of your equipment, a small rift in the timespace barriers opened, and you were displaced like a coin slipping through a crack in the floor." explained Wheelo.

"That's insane!" responded Trunks.

"It would explain your abrupt arrival." replied Oolong.

"If this is true, then how long have I been gone?" asked Trunks frantically.

"Time in the nexus flows differently here, but in relation to Parallel 5961, your disappearance was reported a century ago." said Wheelo.

"It can't be…" Trunks stared at the ground. His shock soon turned to anger. "You're a liar! There's no way a hundred years has passed!"

"I assure you that it is, unfortunately," said Wheelo.

"I demand you send me home!" shouted Trunks.

Oolong grimaced "I'm sorry, Trunks. Your home is no longer what you knew. Time has moved on without you."

"Send. Me. Home!" demanded Trunks.

"I'll just have to show you then," said Oolong, before releasing Trunks' entire body. "Follow Me."

The three of them walked into an elaborate room filled with highly advanced equipment and monitors. Oolong approached a console and began typing.

"I assume you live at the Capsule Corporation building in West City, correct?" asked Oolong.

"Yes." affirmed Trunks.

One of the monitors displayed a massive building with the Capsule Corporation logo displayed on it. In front of the building of was a large statue of Trunks' mother, Bulma. "Here is the Capsule Corporation Headquarters of Parallel 5961 in the present time." announced Oolong.

Trunks looked at the monitor in disbelief. "No, no, no, no, no… This isn't my home. This has to be a mistake!"

"Would you like to see for yourself?" Asked Dr. Wheelo.

After a moment of thought, Trunks despondently replied. "Show me."

"Alright," said Oolong. Dr. Wheelo handed Oolong two Tallus-es. Oolong clasped one of them around his arm and handed the other to Trunks. "Take this and do not lose it. " Trunks followed Oolong's instructions and secured it on his arm.

"Wheelo, send us to Parallel 5961." commanded Oolong.

"Preparations are complete, coordinates set." signaled Wheelo. "5...4...3...2...1…"

A blinding light flashed and Oolong and Trunks was suddenly across the street from the Capsule Corporation building.

"We're here." announced Oolong.

Trunks almosts tripped as he walked towards the Capsule Corp compound. A perimeter gate, something that wasn't there before stood in his way, so he floated over it. When he lands in front of a new door, which was made of 10 inch steel, a scanner set appeared.

"INSERT HAND AND EYE." A robotic voice called out. Trunks looked at the door quizzically, eyes drifting to the scanners. "INSERT HAND AND EYE." the voice repeated. Feeling a bit uneasy with his family's sudden reclusiveness, Trunks slowly did as instructed . After a few moments a negative sounding beep came from the door. "HAND AND EYE NOT RECOGNIZED IN SYSTEM. LEAVE NOW, TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED."

"Okay this has gone long enough." Trunks said, before reaching out and giving the door a push, The door fell to the floor with a loud clang. . Not even a second afterwards, eight guards -in black vests, pants, helmets, and wielding nightsticks- came barrelling at Trunks at high speed. With a smirk on his face, Trunks bobbed and weaved around each strike before slapping all the nightsticks to the ground. At this the guards each drew a square contraption that quickly shifted into a gun. Trunks moved to deflect the inevitable shots, a voice called out, interrupting the battle.

"Stop!" she said, walking down the stairs slowly. She wore giant coke bottle glasses, and her once flowing blue hair is now suddenly violet, and straightened into a bun, but Trunks knew for a fact, the woman coming down to greet Trunks was-

"Mom what's going on?!" Trunks yelled. The woman stopped in her tracks. "I'm gone for a bit and you've hired a death army? What the hell?"

"I've never had any kids. Who are you?" The woman responded. "Why did you walk in here like you know me?" Trunks looked at her, perplexed.

"Mom? It's me, Trunks."

A deafening silence echoed in the compound. Finally, the woman spoke. "Giru, Who is Trunks?"

A voice, far more polite than the Door, answered. "Madame Stocking, Trunks is the firstborn son of Dr. Bulma, daughter of Dr. Brief. Trunks was declared missing a century ago. Shall I continue?"

"No. Thank you, Giru." Stocking said, walking down the steps, eyes on the confused Trunks. "I don't know what your game is, but-"

"There is no game!" Trunks shouted, his fists balled up in frustration. "I was gone for maybe 30 minutes, I was in some crystal palace, and Oolong was there, and Dad was there but a girl and-Hey! Back off!"

The Guards had decided to use Trunks' panic to launch a surprise attack, but Trunks was in no mood to indulge them. Any Guard that came close was knocked out instantly. As Trunks punched a guard into unconsciousness, he saw a flash of gold. It was too quick for him to defend, he only dimly registered the woman who looked like his mom was now a super saiyan, and had embedded her fist six inches into Trunks' stomach. The world turned black and fuzzy, and he was swallowed up by darkness.

When Trunks came to, he heard a familiar voice. Though slightly cracked, it sounded strong and confident. Trunks slowly opened his eyes, head hurting, but happy.

"Piccolo, unnn...You won't believe the dream I had." Trunks said as he slowly sat up from the chaise lounge he had been placed on, but before he could speak, he saw Stocking, standing away from him, looking a bit awkward. Right next to her, was the slightly withered face of Piccolo.

Trunks immediately grabbed his arm, and pinched it hard enough to leave a welt.

"You're not dreaming Trunks." Piccolo said. "This is real."

Trunks looked to Piccolo, then back to Stocking. "You believe me? You recognize me?"

"It's as if I saw you the day before you disappeared." Piccolo said. Stocking slowly drifted to Trunks who immediately moved his feet to the ground, allowing Stocking to sit next to him. Stocking's hands slowly reached towards Trunks' hands, and looked him in the eye.

"Trunks." Stocking said slowly. "I... am so sorry.. for the way I treated you." Trunks looked into her blue eyes and saw shame and a soft sadness, and couldn't find it in himself to be angry or upset anymore. "Capsule Corp... changed immensely since you disappeared, and well, I'm not as kind as the founders once were. Forgive me, please."

"It's...It's okay. No apologies needed." Trunks said. "I also came out of nowhere so I get it...So, where's my mother?"

"She's been dead for 71 years." Piccolo said bluntly. Stocking's hands tightened in Trunks' and Trunks looked Piccolo in the eye, bottom lip trembling

"W..." Trunks didn't want to ask, but he knew he had to. "What year is it?"

"It's Age 889" Piccolo slowly said. "You disappeared Age 784. Bulma died Age 818."

One tear fell. Then another. Trunks tried to look away, even laugh to throw the sudden pain welling up in his gut away, but he couldn't. He stood up and walked to the farthest edge of the room, staring at the wall.

"Trunks?" Piccolo asked

"Oh you know the fan, cold air getting into my eyes, I'm fine." Trunks said. And my allergies, the plants in the room, you know?"

He never felt more alone in his entire life, then right there. Oolong was right.

"So...when I disappeared." Trunks said. "What happened?" Piccolo scratched his neck and started to speak:

"When you disappeared, Bulma waited a week before she got worried. She assumed you ran away for destroying her experimental equipment, and you'd be home to take your punishment. After she waited a week, she contacted Goku, they went to Dende, who couldn't find you on Earth. Then Goku went to King Kai, who couldn't find you in the galaxy. Then to Supreme Kai, who couldn't find you in the entire universe. Then to Yemma, who stated you didn't go into the afterlife. Shenron and Porunga couldn't sense you, or even bring you back. It was then, that there was a shift in things." Piccolo looked to Stocking, who looked away. "Your disappearance changed Bulma, and Vegeta...and that change rippled forward for the last hundred years."

More tears. A shaking fist. Heavy slow breathing in an attempt to keep control.

"So..." Stocking said as she stood up. "Before I contacted Piccolo, we did a DNA test, a blood test, a tissue sample, everything. And well, with Piccolo's confirmation, Trunks, you are my great, great, great grand uncle, and the heir to Capsule Corp." Trunks turned around, completely expressionless except for his pink eyes.

"Trunks," Stocking said. "I'm in my mid 60s, I have no children, and I have no siblings. When I die, the company your grandfather built with his bare hands will be passed to stockholders and directors. People without a speck of our blood. I thought that was to be fate, but I see that you can give Capsule Corp a second chance to stay in the family." Stocking grabbed Trunks by his arms. "Let me adopt you." Stocking said, causing Trunks' eyes to widen. "I share your blood, and you're young. In ten, maybe fifteen years I will have taught you everything I know, and you'll have a family of your own, ensuring our line won't die with me."

"So I'll just be a tool?" Trunks asked incredulously. Stocking quickly shook her head.

"No! ...No." Stocking said. "I regret not having my own children. I was always too busy. Eventually any available suitors moved on as I caked more makeup on my skin, and as I started using more dye in my hair..." Stocking's hands reached from his shoulders and grabbed Trunks. "You may be my ancestor, but I'm still older...And I look like Bulma…" Trunks looked Stocking in her sad eyes. "If you allow me, I can be your mother, and you can be my son. And together, we can be a family."

Trunks felt so tired. He looked to Piccolo. He was silent, but he had a small smile. Trunks looked back to Stocking, who was expecting an answer. "I-I'm sorry I can't." Trunks said, breaking his grip from Stocking's hands, unable to look her in the face. Piccolo, confused tried to ask what was wrong, but Trunks brought his hand up, stopping him.

"I need to go. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble. Please don't follow me." Trunks said, ignoring Stocking's response as he left her office and headed down the stairs.

Trunks slowly walked out of Capsule Corp, not looking anyone in the eye as he did so. Eyes to the ground, he stifled a tear and gripped his shoulders by crossing his arms, holding his body as he realized everything he ever knew was gone.

"What am I going to do?" Trunks whispered. For a second, he considered walking back into Capsule Corp and taking Stocking up on her offer, but seeing a face that looked like his mother but isn't every day...He couldn't handle that. His next thought was a time machine, but he hadn't inherited his mother's brains, and doubted anyone else had either. As he inhaled the creeping autumn air, his eyes drifted to the sharp dressed pig.

Trunks walked up to Oolong, who passed him a capsule. "Wheelo found your sword." Oolong said. "He even polished it for you." Without even a thank you, Trunks threw the capsule to the the ground, and with a large "BOM" the sword appeared out from the waft of smoke. Trunks held up the blade, the glint in moon showed the doctor did pretty well.

"You going to make this home?" Oolong asked, looking to Capsule Corp as he spoke. "Your mother, father and all your friends may be gone, but at least you have something. Capsule Corp still stands, your family bloodline still stands. This could be a good life."

"It's not a life I want." Trunks said. "Listen, Oolong, is there a-"

"-We don't deal with time or time machines." Oolong interrupted. "Entirely different jurisdiction, you don't want to meet the bitch in charge of it." Oolong shudders, an effect that deters Trunks further.

"What is it that you do?" Trunks asked. Oolong stops shuddering, speaking now on his expertise.

"Here's that example I promised kid: when you first saw me, you called out my name. But today is the first time we ever met." Oolong walks up to Trunks with a smile. "Every possible version of reality exists." Oolong said. "Tell me something about the Oolong you know."

"I didn't really know him." Trunks admitted. "He was an old friend of my mom, they knew each other since she was like 16. He was kind of a pervert-No offense." Trunks added.

"None taken, most versions of me are lustful creeps, and cowards too." Oolong reached into his back pocket, grabbing his wallet, and pulled out a photograph, handing it to Trunks. Trunks eyes, widened in absolute shock.

"My mom doesn't have this."

"Of course she wouldn't." Oolong states. "My Bulma is different from yours." the photograph showed Bulma, with wild teal hair and a great big smile on her face, her arm over a very irritated Oolong. He had black marker images all over his face; his right eye had a black circle as a sun, on his left cheek is a black smiley flower, and on his snout were the words written "Dunce!" At the bottom of the photo were the words '3 to 0, Pigs can't play Chess!' Trunks took his eyes off the image and looked to Oolong.

"I was an orphan." Oolong starts. "With Bulma, and Puar, and Krillin, and Yamcha. We were poor, and no one would take all of us, so we stayed in the orphanage, but we were happy, for a time."

"How is this possible?" Trunks said. He looked at the photograph, and remembered a time when he a kid he watched his mom beat the snot out Oolong for catching him in her room. While she called Oolong a friend, it was with a disdain like she held for Master Roshi, or Jaco, entirely different from the tone and esteem she held for Goku and Krillin. And yet there is a photograph showing genuine love and friendship between Oolong and his mother: How could there be two different versions of the same people?

"My version of reality was different from yours." Oolong said. "Infinite number of parallels, I'm from one, and you're from another. And the folks you met at the Panoptichron are all from other parallels. In the end, none of us are special in the grand scheme of things, but you know what, that's a good thing." Oolong took back the photograph, and continued as he put it away. "An Exile's job is to make sure that we aren't special...because when there starts to be a finite version of realities, when we start becoming special? That means the absolute end."

"You protect realities? Is there an actual danger?" Trunks asked.

"Infinite number of realities." Oolong repeated. "That means that some of them, things went down. Bad things. Or bad people find out about other realities and decide they want to take advantage. If we don't stop them, timelines start to destabilize and cease to exist. We can't have that happening."

Trunks looked stunned. Preventing the destruction of Parallels? That, sounds amazing.

"Trunks, originally, I was going to do a three man field operation." Oolong said. "But the fact you came into to the Panoptichron without our intervention, I think it's a sign. I think you should join us. Become an Exile." Trunks took a second to think about this. Making sure the parallels are safe, including other versions of himself, and his mom. But that would mean giving up any semblance of a normal life, right? Trunks looks back to the compound, and sees Stocking at the front of the doors. She had a sad look on look her face, but as if she knew what was happening, she slowly brought her hand up and started to wave. Trunks slowly did the same.

"Oolong." Trunks said. "I'm in." Oolong nodded, and pressed the ruby on the Tallus. And with a smattering of lightning, Oolong and Trunks were gone.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Character Notes:

Bejita, Parallel 4936 - The princess of all Saiyans. In her reality, the Saiyans were met by a benevolent version of Freeza, but they themselves were rotten to the core. Bejita has joined the Exiles for one reason: Revenge. Escaping Freeza's blast while told that her race will be exterminated, she intends to become powerful enough to rip through Freeza with her bare hands, and bring back the Saiyan Empire in her own image.

Ox Prince, Parallel 0989 - From a parallel where the world has been divided into kingdoms, and the Ox Kingdom is the largest of them all. The Ox Prince houses the demon Piccolo inside him, used as a vessel for the Evil Containment Wave by his mother who died saving the world. Seeing the Exiles as an opportunity to gain control of the monster within without interference from the Ox King, his grandfather, Ox Prince puts his best foot forward every day for the others.

Soba, Parallel 0841 - A parallel not much different from the prime reality, Soba is an assassin from the planet Yardrat. He took his people's most impressive ability, Instant Transmission, and wields it offensively as well as defensively, redirecting energy attacks with only his mind, or with just a touch, transport an enemy into deep space where they will die a cold and lonely death. It's unknown why he joined the Exiles, but the benefits of learning new abilities to improve his craft may be the reason.

Trunks, Parallel 5961 - A curious parallel where time moves far faster compared to others, this Trunks had lived a reasonably good life before he became an Exile. More combat oriented, like his father he spends hours training and getting stronger, but is still human enough to enjoy life, and spend time doing other things. Displaced in time, he is now without a home, but intends to make the best of the situation protecting all of reality as an Exile.


End file.
